Generally, an inkjet printer is known as a liquid ejection apparatus that ejects liquid, or ink, onto a target through a nozzle opening defined in a nozzle-forming surface of a recording head. In the inkjet printer, after having been ejected through the nozzle opening of the recording head, the ink may remain in the vicinity of the nozzle opening or be splashed back by a targeted recording medium such as a sheet of paper, adhering to the nozzle-forming surface.
If the ink adheres to the nozzle-forming surface, ejection of the ink from the nozzle opening may occur in an offset direction or the ink may clog the nozzle opening, which leads to a printing problem. To solve this problem, as described in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2001-30507, the inkjet printer typically includes, for example, a flushing box and wipers. The flushing box receives the ink that is forcibly ejected from a nozzle opening of a recording head in a non-printing state. Each of the wipers wipes the ink off from the nozzle-forming surface to clean the nozzle-forming surface. The flushing box and the wipers are driven members that operate in different operational areas for different operational purposes when powered by drive force transmitted from a drive source.
More specifically, the printer of Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2001-30507 has a rotary drum and an arm member. Each of the rotary drums is located below the nozzle-forming surface of the recording head and rotates about a horizontal axis. The arm member is supported by a shaft of the corresponding rotary drum and caused to be moved by rotation of the rotary drum. The flushing box and the associated wiping members are held by the distal end of the corresponding arm member. The rotary drum forms a drive force transmission member and the arm member forms a movable member. Through movement of the arm member caused by rotation of the rotary drum, the flushing box is moved between a liquid receiving position and a liquid non-receiving position, or a retreat position, which is spaced from the liquid receiving position. When the flushing box is located at the liquid receiving position, the flushing box is opposed to the nozzle-forming surface.
The wiping members are formed as follows. A plurality of lead screws, which extend parallel with the shaft of the rotary drum, are provided on the distal end of the arm member at position distal from the flushing box. A wiper holder, or a wiper carrier, which supports the wiper, is mounted on each of the lead screws. The wiper holder is movable in the axial direction of the lead screw. The lead screws each form a drive force transmission member. Each wiper holder forms a movable member and each wiper forms a wiping member. Each of the wipers is moved to a position immediately below the nozzle-forming surface of the recording head by causing the arm member to move through rotation of the associated rotary drum. Then, drive force is generated to rotate the lead screw. This moves the wiper between a wiping position for wiping the nozzle-forming surface and a non-wiping position spaced from the wiping position while flexibly deforming through slidable contact with the nozzle-forming surface.
The printer of Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2001-30507 needs a plurality of drive force transmission members (i.e., the rotary drum and lead screws) and a plurality of movable members (i.e., the arm member and wiper holders) for a plurality of driven members (i.e., the flushing box and the wipers). In other words, a specific drive force transmission device comprising a drive force transmission member and a movable member must be provided for each of the driven members, which operate in different operational areas for different operational purposes.
Further, a single-row wiper that wipes a nozzle row for black ink exclusively and multiple-row wipers that wipe nozzle rows for color ink are supported by a specific wiper holder, respectively. Each of the wiper holders is mounted in a specific one of the lead screws. Accordingly, also in this regard, the printer of Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2001-30507 must include specific drive force transmission devices for different driven members that operate in different operational areas for different operational purposes.
Also, in addition to the flushing box and the wipers, a printer normally include other driven members such as a cap member, which is selectively raised and lowered for sealing or releasing the nozzle-forming surface of the recording head, or different types of valves. It is thus necessary to provide additional drive force transmission devices specifically for these driven members. Such necessity of specific drive force transmission devices enlarges the printer as a whole and complicates the configuration of the printer.